A combination of the COVID-19 crisis and mild weather in the northern hemisphere have put global demand for natural gas on course for its largest annual decline in history, the International Energy Agency (IEA) say in new report.

Global gas demand is expected to fall by 4 per cent, twice the size of the drop following the 2008 global financial crisis, despite the even more dramatic fall of coal as fuel.

The IEA’s latest annual market report, Gas 2020 see the biggest drops in more mature markets across Europe, North America and Asia, accounting for three quarters of the total decline in gas demand in 2020.

“Natural gas has so far experienced a less severe impact than oil and coal, but it is far from immune from the current crisis. The record decline this year represents a dramatic change of circumstances for an industry that had become used to strong increases in demand,” said Dr Fatih Birol, the IEA’s executive director.

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